Wire-coiling machine



'(No Model.) I A 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. L. C. BALDWIN.

I I WIRE GOILING MAOHINE. No..5-0-7,979. v Patented- Nov. 7,1893.

INVENTU? |T-Es sEs= is VM I M' (No Model.)

' Q '2-Sheets-Sheet 2. L. C. BALDWIN.

WIRE OOILING MACHINE. No. 507,979. Patented Nov. 7, 1893.

ITNESSESZ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LUTHER CHASE BALDWIN, OF MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

WIRE-COILJNG MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of-Letters Patent No. 507,979, dated November 7, 1893.

Application filed October 23, 1890. Serial No. 369,009- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, LUTHER CHASE BALD WIN, of Manchester, in the county of Hillsborough and State of New Hampshire, have nvented certain Improvements in Wire-Coilng Machines, of which the following, taken n connection with the accompanying drawlngs, is a specification.

In the manufacturing of coiled wire rings,

to springs and similar articles it is customary to coil the wire toform about a mandrel. In some cases the wire is coiled about the mandrel spirally thus forming a spiral cylinder of wire of greater length than the intended article of manufacture. is to have. The cylinder thus formed is subsequently cut into sections conforming to the length of the intended article and tempered or otherwise finished as desired. g

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a mechanism embodying this invent1on. Fig. 2 is-an end elevation of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an end and side elevation of the revoluble mandrel, detached from the revolving z 5 mechanism. Fig. 4 is a side and face elevation of the stripper-cam. Fig. 4 is a detail view of the adjustable guide. I

My invention comprises a mandrel, as A,

(Fig. 3) on and about which the'wire is coiled to give the cylindrical form. The diameter of the mandrel determines the diameter of the interior or the coil or Wire cylinder and as difl'erent sized mandrels give a corresponding difference in the diametric measurements of the coils made thereupon, it follows that to obtain even the sizes most commonly made, a variety of mandrels is required. It is desirable, therefore, for economical reasons, to have the mandrel detachably connected with 40 the revolving mechanism. To that end the mandrel is shown in the drawings with a screw-threaded tang, a, (Fig. 3,) which enters a corresponding screw-threaded socket in shaft, B, as shown, (Fig. 1.) The shaft, B, is 43 journaled in a suitable frame work, as O, and may be revolved in its journal bearings by any suitable driving mechanism. As repre: sented in, the accompanying drawings, it is revolved by a belt,H. To that end the belt is extended from a driving shaft, N, to the mandrel shaft, B, over intermediate pulleys, as represented, (Fig. 1.)

The mandrel employed in carrying out my invention is supported in its revolving shaft or chuck with one end free. Off this free end of the mandrel, as shown in Fig. 1, the cylinder is discharged, gradually, during the winding operation. To effect this gradual discharge of the cylinder, I employ the cam, S, (Fig. 4.) Said cam has its edge face formed after the principle of an inclined plane, commencing at the point, 4, (see Fig. 4,) and extending from this point round the cams edge face to the point 6.

In operation the cam is placed upon the mandrel, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. To this end the cam has a central opening through which the mandrel is passed, as shown, and the cam, being thus supported on the mandrel, is prevented from revolving therewith by a projection 10 from the cam which bears upon the frame work, 0, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

The mandrel, A, is provided with a groove, e, extending from the free end of the mandrel, longitudinally along the face of the mandrel, as shown in Fig. 3. In starting the for- .mation of a coil or cylinder the forward end of the wire material is projected slightly into the slot, 6, so that a slight turning movement of the mandrel causes it to bind and thus obtain a hold upon the wire. The wire to is made to pass from its reel or other supporting device, (not shown,) to the mandrel in a line to contact with the inclined edge face of the cam, S. The contact is made to take place at a point'on the inclined face of the cambetween the point, (see Fig. 4,) 4, which marks the commencement and the point, 6, which marks the termination of the incline of the cam face. This arrangement causes the wire, while passing round with the mandrel, thus forming a coil, tobe at the same time moved alongzthe mandrel longitudinally by the inclined face of cam, S. The cam acts upon the forming coil continuously during the passage of the wire from the point where 7 it contacts with the face of the cam to the point, 6, where it departs therefrom and the amount of pitch or inclination possessed by the cam face between these points, determines the amount of movement imparted by the cam to the forming coil, "1 e.,the distance that the forming coil is, during its formation,

moved by the cam along the mandrel, longitudinally to the discharge end thereof. This movement of the forming coil along the mandrel should be a distance equal to the diameter of the wire in order to prevent the several coils from overlapping each other. In case it is desired to form the cylinder with spaces intermediate the several coils, it is only necessary to modify the incline or length of the cam face so that it will move the forming coil along the mandrel, as described, a distance greater than the diameter of the wire and the distance by which this longitudinal movement of the coil exceeds the diameter of the wire measures the space left between the respective coils composing the cylinder.

For economical reasons, as also for convenience it is desirable to obviate the necessity of providing different cams conforming to the differences in the diameter of the wire material, the spaces between the cylinder coils, &c., and to this end I have devised and represented, in the drawings the means by which this result maybe secured. In carrying out this feature of my invention I give to the cam, S, an incline equal to the longest distance that may in any case be predetermined as the amount of movement to beimparted by the cam to the forming coil along the mandrel, longitudinally. This movement is measured by the distance between the points 4 and 6, of the cam, as indicated by line marked,f, in Fig. 4 of the accompanying drawings.

A wire introduced to the mandrel, so that it contacts with the cam at the point 4, will be moved, during the forming of the coil, a distance along the mandrel, longitudinally, equal to the distance measured by line f, (i. e.,) the entire action of the cam will be exerted thereupon. If however, the wire is passed to the mandrel in aline so that it first contacts with the cam face at some point remote from the point, 4, it receives onlya part of the possible action of the cam andin such case the forming coil is moved along the mandrel, as described, only a portion of the distance measured by the line, f. The amount of such movement, in any case, is measured by the distance between two parallel planes, one of which includes the point, 6, of the cam face, (see Fig. 4,) and the other of which includes the point of the cam face where the wire is made to first contact therewith, both of said supposed planes being made to cut the forming mandrel at right angles. The position of a plane set as described, including the point, 6, of the cam, is indicated by dotted lines, 22, 22, in Fig. 4, of the accompanying drawings. In the cam, S, is set a pin-rest, 10, on which is a fixed collar, 20. In operation the wire is passed to the mandrel, bearing upon the pin-rest, 10, and against the collar, 20. The pin-rest co-operates with the mandrel to give the curvilinear bend to the wire material while the collar, 20, determines the point at which the wire material is to first contact with the edge face of the cam, S, so that a variation of distance between the collar, 20, and the supposed plane,ind1cated by dotted lines, 22, 22, yields a corresponding variation of distance by which the forming coil will be moved along the mandrel longitudinally by the cam.

To the end that the collar, 20, may be variously positioned, relatively to the supposed plane, 22, 22, and fixed at any desired point, the pin-rest, 10, is provided with a screwthreaded tang, set into a screw-threaded socket in-the cam, S, and may be operated in one direction to carry the collar, 20, toward, and in the opposite direction, to carry the collar, 20, away from, the plane, 22, 22. When the desired position of the collar is obtained, a set screw, 30, may be operated to fix and prevent further movement of the p1n-rest, l0. By this arrangement of parts one cam perm ts the wire to be coiled in varieties or variations conforming to the demands of most practical uses.

I would not be understood as limiting my invention to the particular construct1on and arrangement of the parts herein shown and described, by which a single cam is made to act more or less extendedly, as obviously the essential features area cam provided with an inclined operating face and a guide for the material, adjustable relatively to each other, substantially as described.

From the foregoing it will be understood that the forming coil is moved, during its formation, by the action of the cam, S, along the mandrel, longitudinally, and each succeeding coil carries before it the preceding formed coils, so that the cylinder is being continuously formed at one end and discharged off the other end of the mandrel. Obviously, as the extreme end of the wire materiahoriginally introduced into the groove, c, travels longitudinally, along the mandrel and escapes from said groove, the mandrel thereupon loses its hold upon the forming cylinder, except such hold as may be obtained by frictional contact of the mandrel with the late rior surface of the several coils of the cylinder which remain upon the mandrel. This frictional contact will, in some cases, according to the kind and tension of the wire material supplied to the mandrel, give sulficient hold to continue the work of forming the cylinder, but in other cases, and especially where the material is smooth finished, there will be no practical hold between the surface of the mandrel and the coils, so that the mandrel in such cases revolves within the cylinder and thereupon the work of coiling the wire stops. To avoid this stopping of the work, and to insure a uniform winding of the cylinder in all cases I have devised means for holding the coils which remain upon the mandrel pressed tightly to the mandreland insuring the rotation thereof in unison with the mandrel. In carrying out this feature of my invention,

IIO

I have had in mind the necessity of providing against interference with the movement of the coils along the mandrel, longitudinally and the desirability of assisting that movement as well as the necessity of securing a rotation of the coils in unison with the mandrel. To this end, I take an ordinary belt composed of leather or other suitable belt material. This belt, as represented in the accompanying drawings, is extended from a pulley on the driving shaft, N, over the coilsof the cylinder which remain on the mandrel, A, adja: cent to the forming end of the cylinder, as shown in Fig. 1. This belt is kept sufficiently taut by means of a suitable revolving idler, as. 14:. The belt is made to .move in the direction of the rotation ofthe mandrel by the. action of'driving shaft, N, and interposed pulley, arranged as represented.

The-arrangement of. mechanism described herein for driving the belt may be substi tuted by other obvious driving mechanism, the essential feature being to have the belt move in a direction conforming substantially to the line of rotation of the mandrel. The belt is, made to travel with. a speed gradur ated,.relatively' to the speed of the mandrel, A, so that the belt will bind to the surface of the, mandrel with more or less torsional strain. those coils of the formingcylinder which, for the time being, are interposed between the mandrel and the belt. In practice I obtain the best results by having the belt travel slightly faster than the mandreh I find that this arrangement givesa binding force between-the mandrel and the coils-sufficient to insure the rotation of the coils uniformly with the mandrel for continuing the winding operation while ,it, at the same time, effectsa kind of displacement between the surfaces ofthemandrel and the coils, which promotes the movement of the coils along the mandrel, longitudinally and, in this way, the beltco; operates with the stripper-cam, S, in effecting a discharge of the cylinder off the free end of the mandrel. I would not be understood as limiting my invention to a binder composed of a belt arranged as specifically described as other obvious devices, such as a revolving roll, might be substituted with some degree of success, at least, the essential feature be ingto bind. the coils to the cylinder movably and secondarily to promote a tendency of the coils to move along the mandrel, longitudinally. p The method pursued in forming a cylinder of wire, according to my invention, consists in applying the wire material to the curvilinear face of a mandrel having circular crosssectional area, bending the wire material as applied, conforming it to the cross-sectional area of the mandrel, moving the wire material as applied along the mandrel longitudinally,

continuing this operation, forming coils, pro gressively surrounding the mandrel and discharging the formed coils off the mandrel.

I claim- 1. In a wire coiling machine, the revolving mandrel, the stripper having an inclined face, and a guide for the wire adjustable at right points thereon; substantially as described.

7 angles to the plane of the inclined face, whereby. the wire may be fed to touch different 2. In a wire coiling machine, the'revolving mandrel, the stripper having an inclined face,

and the guide for the wire comprising the. screw 10 extending into the face of the strlpper; substantially as described.

3. In a wire coiling machine, the revolving mandrel, the stripper having an inclined face, and the guide for the wire carried by the stripper and adjustable in relation to the in-.. clined face to cause the wire to touch differ-' ent points thereon. v 4.. In a wire coiling machine, the revoluble wire-receivingand wire-coiling mandrel, combined with a wire binder, movable inthe direction of :rotation of the mandrel, and a wiredischarger, substantially as described.

5. In a wire-coiling machine the revoluble bined with a wire binder, acting in the direction of rotation of the mandrel, with movement exceeding that of the mandrel, substantiallyas described.

6. In a wire coiling machine, the revoluble wire-receivin g andwire-coiling mandrel, combined with a wire binder composed of afiexi- LUTHER CHASE BALDWIN.

Witnesses:

J. FOSTER Brscon, G. B. TUTTLE.

.90 wire-receiving and wire-coiling mandrel, come 

